Of all the programs that Bread and Water for Africa® supports, including WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) projects, agriculture and food self-sustainability, education and healthcare, it is orphan care that is nearest and dearest to our hearts which melt when we see photos of smiling, happy children in their loving homes in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
For nearly four decades, thanks to our loyal and generous supporters, we have provided grant assistance to our orphan care partners: the Lewa Children’s Home in Kenya; the Kabwata Orphanage and Transit Centre in Zambia; Shinga Development Trust and its Lerato Children’s Home in Zimbabwe; and our newest partner, Watoto Wa Africa (Children of Africa) in Tanzania.
It is there they have found loving homes after being rescued from abusive situations following the deaths of one or both of their parents with no one to love or care for them, many teens and even very young children left to fend for themselves on the streets by begging, or worse.
At these homes the orphaned, destitute and vulnerable children and youth are provided with three nutritious, filling meals every single day, a warm bed to sleep in at night, newfound “brothers” and “sisters,” the opportunity for an education that can take them as far they their desires take them, and the medical care they need to grow up healthy and happy.
That is something that not all children growing up in sub-Saharan African countries can say – far from it – as more than 28 million children on the continent are today suffering from extreme malnutrition which makes them highly susceptible to deadly diseases including malaria, tuberculosis, cholera, meningitis, and many others.
And when we combine our orphan care program with our healthcare program which ships millions of dollars’ worth of medicines, medical supplies and equipment to our grassroots partners which operate, or collaborate with, rural clinics and hospitals, together, thanks to our supporters, we are helping to rid their little bodies of infections and treatable diseases and literally save lives.
But there’s so much more as support from Bread and Water for Africa® ensures that orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children and youth have clean, safe water for drinking and bathing, are provided with primary and secondary school education, and are taught healthy sanitation practices along with life skills that all together led towards a successful, and self-sufficient, adulthood.
Our newest orphan care partner, WWA director Joseph Kirutu who oversees operation of its orphanage which serves roughly 100 children living there puts it this way:
“Watoto Wa Africa and all the children under our care have been blessed to have Bread and Water for Africa® come to their rescue.
“Since our partnership with Bread and Water for Africa® began, we have had the privilege of feeding the children three meals each day, living in a much improved, cleaner environment, and today we now have our own land where we can produce our own food. We even have a new well that we can now get our own water from.
“From myself, our staff, and all our children here, thank you Bread and Water for Africa®!”
